Small world: nanotech + Health | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world+society/health
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The nanotechnology in your sunscreen | Holly Cavehttps://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2014/mar/13/nanotechnology-sunscreen-skin-cancer
Nanoparticles prevent skin cancer by absorbing UV light, without making your face feel 'cakey'. Here is how they do it<p>The <a href="http://www.nanotechproject.org/cpi/" title="">Consumer Products Inventory</a> lists over 1,600 products which are identified by the manufacturer as containing nanoparticles – particles between one and 100 nanometres (between one and 100 billionths of a metre) across. So let's take a look at what's inside your household items. Last month in this series on nanotech in household items,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2014/feb/14/nanotechnology-clothes-nanoparticles" title="">we looked at clothing</a>. This month: sunscreen.</p><p>There are two types of nanoparticles already being added to sunscreen; titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO).</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2014/mar/13/nanotechnology-sunscreen-skin-cancer">Continue reading...</a>NanotechnologyScienceSkin cancerSocietyCancerHealthLife and styleBeautyHealth & wellbeingThu, 13 Mar 2014 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2014/mar/13/nanotechnology-sunscreen-skin-cancerPhotograph: GettyNanoparticles of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide absorb UV light and scatter visible light, rendering them transparent on the skin. Photograph: GettyPhotograph: GettyNanoparticles of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide absorb UV light and scatter visible light, rendering them transparent on the skin. Photograph: GettyHolly Cave2014-03-13T07:00:00ZIs it time to call a truce in the 'battle against disease'? | Kostas Kostareloshttps://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2013/nov/28/battle-disease-medicine-medical-research
Our obsession with war-like language in medical research may unconsciously limit our creativity in finding new treatments<p>Almost every night I have watched the news these past few months my senses have been assaulted by unpleasant, at times distressing, images of war: missiles, killings and chemical bombs in Syria, Kenya, the USA. I wake up the next morning, trying to forget what I watched the night before, and going to work with our researchers to develop the next potential high-tech cure for cancer, thinking: "does what we do matter at all … ?"</p><p>So I was intrigued by an article that will be published in one of the scientific journals in our field entitled: "<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1748013213000881" title="">Nanomedicine metaphors: from war to care</a>". The next lab meeting we had was very awkward, because I was constantly thinking that indeed a lot of the words we were using to communicate our science were directly imported from the language of war. Targeting, stealth nanoparticle, smart bomb, elimination, triggered release, cell death. I struggled to find alternative language.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2013/nov/28/battle-disease-medicine-medical-research">Continue reading...</a>NanotechnologyScienceMedical researchHealthSocietyFri, 29 Nov 2013 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2013/nov/28/battle-disease-medicine-medical-researchPhotograph: Jon Mills/AFP/Getty ImagesViewing the body as a 'combat zone' may be counterproductive. Photograph: Jon Mills/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Jon Mills/AFP/Getty ImagesViewing the body as a 'combat zone' may be counterproductive. Photograph: Jon Mills/AFP/Getty ImagesKostas Kostarelos2013-11-29T07:00:00ZMother Nature talks nanotech: cancer drugs | Holly Cavehttps://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2013/jul/12/mother-nature-nanotech-cancer
In a new series about nanotechnology, Mother Nature goes head-to-head with a scientist. This week: cancer drugs<p><strong>Nanoparticles – particles as little as a millionth of a millimetre wide made from materials such as polymers, metals and graphene – have properties and behaviours that are being used to carry drugs and target them at cancer cells. So tell me: what's your beef? </strong></p><p>Well that's typical, isn't it? I come up with a simple way to keep you humans from completely overpopulating the planet without too much fuss (epidemics and natural disasters are <em>so</em> OTT), and scientists have to go meddling. Not that interfering is anything new to you lot …</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2013/jul/12/mother-nature-nanotech-cancer">Continue reading...</a>NanotechnologyBiochemistry and molecular biologyChemistryBiologyScienceCancer researchMedical researchCancerHealthSocietyFri, 12 Jul 2013 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2013/jul/12/mother-nature-nanotech-cancerPhotograph: Getty ImagesProstate cancer. Binding cancer drugs to gold nanoparticles may reduce their toxic side-effects. Photograph: Getty ImagesPhotograph: Getty ImagesProstate cancer. Binding cancer drugs to gold nanoparticles may reduce their toxic side-effects. Photograph: Getty ImagesHolly Cave2013-07-12T06:00:00ZIs nanotechnology safe? | Kostas Kostareloshttps://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2013/jul/03/is-nanotechnology-safe
A nanomaterial that is 'unsafe' from an environmental standpoint may be a safe, essential tool for oncologists or neurosurgeons<p>I have a confession to make. I never thought, when I started our laboratory in 1998 at the medical school of Cornell University in New York, that I would ever be concerned about the possible toxic effects of exotic (and, back then, hardly invented) nanomaterials. I was a junior professor training clinical fellows, some of them from the critical care unit, others from surgical oncology, in basic research.</p><p>Most of these guys were primarily worried about their clinical duties, keeping as many of their intensive care patients alive as possible. Who cared whether exposure to quantum dots or liposomes would perhaps cause an adverse effect 30 years down the line? The breathing support monitors and their pagers were beeping! Patients had to be kept alive by all means available!</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2013/jul/03/is-nanotechnology-safe">Continue reading...</a>NanotechnologyScienceMedical researchCancer researchCancerHealthSocietyPollutionEnvironmentWed, 03 Jul 2013 12:14:45 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2013/jul/03/is-nanotechnology-safePhotograph: Rowenna Davis/GuardianDoctors have to balance any long-term risks of a treatment against short-term threats to the lives of their patients. Photograph: Rowenna Davis/GuardianPhotograph: Rowenna Davis/GuardianDoctors have to balance any long-term risks of a treatment against short-term threats to the lives of their patients. Photograph: Rowenna Davis/GuardianKostas Kostarelos2013-07-03T12:14:45ZNanotech roundup: safety concerns, bionic ears and world's smallest movie | Ros Dawhttps://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2013/may/22/nanotech-roundup-safety-bionic-ears-smallest-movie
In this month's roundup we report new recommendations on handling nanofibres and nanotubes, the creation of superhuman ears, and a movie made from individual molecules<p>Concerns about the safety of carbon nanotubes and nanofibres have led to new recommendations on maximum exposure levels from the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Recent animal studies have suggested that these "large aspect ratio" (long and thin) nanostructures <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2013-145/" title="">could pose a respiratory hazard</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2013/may/22/nanotech-roundup-safety-bionic-ears-smallest-movie">Continue reading...</a>NanotechnologyMedical researchScienceHealthSocietyResearch and developmentTechnologyMaterials scienceWed, 22 May 2013 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/science/small-world/2013/may/22/nanotech-roundup-safety-bionic-ears-smallest-moviePhotograph: AlamyAnimal studies suggest that nanotubes and nanofibres may cause respiratory problems. Photograph: AlamyPhotograph: AlamyAnimal studies suggest that nanotubes and nanofibres may cause respiratory problems. Photograph: AlamyRos Daw2013-05-22T06:00:00Z